


6 am and 6 pm at 100 bpm

by AMillionYearsAgo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cafes, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Is It Slow Burn?, M/M, Roommates, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, he’s also a history/biology double major, hinata really likes the sky, i wrote the first three sections of this while listening to a metronome at 100 bpm, it's not really slow burn but eh, kageyama is a business major, nothing else just the metronome, the passage of time, tsukishima and atsumu are Tired Of Their Shit, why do i always end up projecting onto hinata, yamayachi is mentioned like once in passing don’t yell at me about it, you should listen to the playlist while reading this it’s really cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 09:21:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30086940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMillionYearsAgo/pseuds/AMillionYearsAgo
Summary: “you look like you’ve eaten the sun, like you’ve eaten so much sunlight that you’re drowning in it.” - yves olade,when rome fallsyou are always there. no matter the time of day, you are a steady presence in my heart like the beat of a metronome, like that smile i’m so in love with.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi (mentioned)
Kudos: 18





	6 am and 6 pm at 100 bpm

**Author's Note:**

> i am an absolute sucker for soft, domestic kagehina. quiet love is what i want and quiet love is what i shall have, and you shall have it too. happy reading :)
> 
> here’s the [spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5bvmxlwkdbeqA4qdZmaBBi?si=GoID7cOQSdScxTQz4U3LGQ) (no, the songs are not at 100 bpm. don’t @ me.)

**1.**

Kageyama was a morning person until he began to attend university. Then, he became a ‘go away’ person. A ‘don’t talk to me’ person. A ‘let me sleep, dumbass, I went to bed 40 minutes ago’ person.

Hinata was a morning person, too, and that hadn’t changed when he began to attend university. What with such different lifestyles, such opposite views on sleep - Hinata doesn’t need any, apparently, and Kageyama can never seem to get enough - you would not think that they would be good roommates.

And you’d be right. Most of the time, they are absolutely terrible roommates. But they didn’t know that back in their third year of high school, so they get off the hook. This time.

“Get up.”

“What did I _just_ say.”

“Yeah, yeah, 40 minutes, whatever. That’s good enough. I’ve seen you function on four.”

Kageyama slowly pulled his duvet down until his eyes were uncovered. They were already open, bleary, but glaring at Hinata nonetheless.

“You call that _functioning?”_

Hinata smiled. “Get the fuck up, before I call Tsukishima over to help me out.”

Kageyama rolled out of bed, making sure to send Hinata crashing to the ground as he did so. Their morning began.

**2.**

“How many slices do you want?”

“Why do you ask this every day? It’s always two.”

“Jeez, Kageyama, it’s called being nice. You should try it out once or- ow!”

Kageyama squeezed his fingers even harder, his grip slipping a bit. Hinata must have used conditioner yesterday. Behind them, a drop of water slid down the side of the kettle and sizzled in panic upon reaching the stovetop.

“Where’s the lemon and ginger tea?” he asked, letting go of his roommate’s head to step around him and open a drawer or three.

Hinata snorted. “In your pocket, Bakageyama. It was the first thing you grabbed in here.”

“Oh. Do you want some?”

“Why do you ask this every day? It’s always the same, I always have wildberry t- eep!”

Hinata jerked away from his lunging grip and ran into the living room. “The water’s boiled! Get it off, please!”

“Dumbass!”

The tired IKEA clock hanging on the wall above their trash bins ticked for another four minutes before Hinata dared to venture back into the kitchen. By then, two mugs of tea were sitting on the countertop by the stove, ruminating. Their thoughts evaporated into the morning in little wisps of steam. Kageyama was spreading cheese on a slice of bread.

Hinata smiled and began to peel a mandarin. He offered half of it to Kageyama, who said, “No, thanks. Can’t you see my hands are occupied?”

Hinata continued to smile. He peeled off a slice and held it in front of his friend’s mouth.

He obliged.

They had 47 minutes until their lectures began, on opposite ends of the campus.

**3.**

Hinata wondered if there were painters in the sky, if each of them stroked the heavens with their clouds and colours every morning and every evening. Maybe the stars were actually the painters themselves.

Whoever painted the sky this morning had done a good job. Golden paint splashed down onto the Earth and gave the urban university campus an idyllic feel. Hinata remembered mornings biking down mountain streets, deep in the countryside.

His orange hair was set aflame. The girl rushing towards him with a box of chocolates in her hands had not had any difficulty picking him out of the passersby.

“Hinata!”

He turned. His confusion shifted to a pleasant smile.

“Good morning!”

She arrived in front of him and bent forwards. It was unclear whether she was bowing or simply catching her breath. The little box, still in its thin plastic wrapping, was thrust out towards him. Hinata didn’t spare it more than a moment’s glance. He had seen many of these before.

“Please take this!”

He took it gently. The fact that he had seen many of these before did not diminish each one’s importance.

“Thank you. I’ll pass it on to Kageyama for you. What’s your name? I’m sure he’d love to know.”

She tilted her head. Nervousness gave way to confusion. “Kageyama?”

“Yeah. It’s for him, no?”

She looked thunderstruck. Black hair swished over a shoulder and down a back. “No, it’s for you. I gave it to you.”

Hinata’s eyes widened. Golden paint pooled in them, setting them alight with happiness and understanding. If the girl hadn’t already been out of breath, she would be now. “Oh! Thank you very much!”

“I- It’s no problem at all! Please enjoy them! Thank you!”

She bent over again - okay, so it was a bow, then - and ran away, black hair swishing in the morning. Hinata stood there with sunlight twinkling at the edges of his smile. He was five minutes away from the beginning of class.

_Hinata:_ got chocolates!!!

 _Hinata:_ from a girl in my us history class :D

 _Hinata:_ we had a group thing a while ago i think it was for that

_Kageyama:_ are you stupid

 _Kageyama:_ it’s valentine’s day you fucking idiot

 _Kageyama:_ that was a confession

_Hinata:_ WHAT

**4.**

Kageyama didn’t particularly enjoy statistics, but it was a requirement for his major. He got good enough grades to scrape by, and most days, he was able to stay awake for the entire lecture.

Some days, though, he didn’t have to try. Like today.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, rippling softly through his thigh. He pulled it out, even though he already knew who it was. Just for the heck of it.

_Hinata:_ [sent a GIF]

As if the GIF had summoned him, the two girls sitting in front of Kageyama turned their conversation towards a certain redheaded history/biology double major. They giggled and nudged each other, cheeks pink and ponytails bouncing.

“He’s so cute! His hair suits him so well.”

“And his eyes are so nice too! You know, I don’t usually go for brown-eyed guys, but-”

“But on him, they look amazing!”

“Yeah!”

Kageyama snorted. He wondered idly if their opinions on Hinata’s looks would be so steadfast if they were faced with the spectacle of him falling asleep in his textbooks.

Down at the front of the hall, the professor gave a mighty sneeze. He sniffed and yanked a tissue up and out. Dust motes twirled in a short-lived fog in the sunlight around him.

A few ‘bless you’s floated out of the audience.

The professor continued professing

The girls continued chatting, undeterred.

“He’s an athlete, too.” She sighed dreamily, resting her chin on her fist. “Can you just imagine how he’d look on a beach date?”

“Oooh, yes, when he’s all sweaty and sandy! Gah, I’m feeling embarrassed talking about this…” She buried her face into her arms. Across the room, a pencil clattered noisily onto the tile.

Her friend snickered. “I think you mean you’re _excited…_ ”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, tuning out the rest of their conversation. He rested his head on his hand, thinking lazily about what their reaction might be to seeing Hinata flopped across a couch after a run, shirtless and panting like a puppy and smelling absolutely terrible.

Actually, they might enjoy that.

 _Well,_ he thought rather smugly, _they don’t get to see it,_ I _do. Even if I don’t ask to._

Above him and outside the long, narrow windows, the clouds strolled across the mid-morning sky. 

**5.**

Hinata didn’t notice his roommate entering the cafe, engrossed as he was in his essay. His eyes flicked between his laptop screen and his textbook, the neon lines sprinkled across the pages blurring slightly. Vaguely, he remembered that he hadn’t texted Kageyama where in the cafe he was seated.

No worries. He wasn’t very hard to miss in a crowd.

Kageyama sat down across from him, long legs bumping into the table and jostling Hinata out of his funk.

“Here.”

Hinata smiled briefly. Ice cubes clinked as he took a sip.

“You know, I think I’ve only told you my order, like, once.”

“Well, it’s not like you need to say it any more than that,” Kageyama replied, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his head. His own drink stood in front of him. He’d taken the lid off. Steam curled up into the air.

Hinata smiled again before looking back at his work. He missed the soft grin Kageyama aimed at him, but heard him say, “Do you have an eraser? I forgot mine.”

He hummed and gestured in the general direction of his pencil case. Kageyama hummed back. He heard some rustling. A few moments later, more notebooks and textbooks found their way onto the tabletop.

Their hour passed by quietly. Kageyama scratched away at his work, fingers flying over his calculator, while Hinata tapped away at his laptop with the sort of determination that only shows its face when there’s an impending deadline. Black coffee cooled while iced coffee melted. Someone’s stomach grumbled.

Hinata looked up, breathing out a tiny laugh. “I’ll go get something. I need a break, anyway.”

Kageyama hummed. Black hair swished slightly. 

When Hinata returned, two sandwiches in hand, Kageyama had resumed his casual-handsome-athlete position, leaned back with his hands on his head. He turned to watch his friend thread his way through the midday crowd and made grabby hands at a sandwich once he was close enough.

“No, that’s mine. The other one’s yours.”

“Ah.”

They settled in to eat, crumbs floating down every so often. This was not a time for conversation. This was a time for quiet munching and contemplating.

Hinata reached over to take a sip of Kageyama’s now-cold coffee. His face scrunched at the taste. “Blegh, I’ll never understand how you like this.”

Kageyama flicked him on the forehead. His phone lit up with a notification. White numbers flashed _1:26_.

**6.**

Leaving the cafe brought with it a bit of a shock. It had gotten colder within the past couple of hours, the breeze now nipping impishly at their faces. Kageyama frowned, first at the sky, then at Hinata.

“Gross.”

“I know. You’re shivering already, Bakegayama. Why didn’t you bring anything warm?”

He sputtered. “It was so sunny this morning! I didn’t think I’d need anything, stupid!”

Hinata said nothing, scoffing as he swung his bag around and dug out a green lump of...stuff. Kageyama peered curiously at it.

“Is that-”

“A scarf.” His roommate thrust it out towards him. When he wasn’t graced with a response, he scoffed again and thwacked his chest with it.

Kageyama scowled, yanking it out of his hands and winding it around his neck. “It’s the colour of vomit.”

“Gross, Kageyama!”

He snorted. The wind kicked up half a notch. Hinata’s vivid locks looked slightly duller under the clouds, whipping about and coming to rest at odd angles. Kageyama reached over and yanked his hood up, ignoring Hinata’s squawk of protest.

“It’s cold,” he said by way of explanation. Hinata’s face softened.

“Yeah,” he hummed. He smiled up at his roommate and began to back away. “You’re going to the library, right? I’ll see you at practice, then.”

Kageyama raised a hand. “Pay attention in class.”

“I always do!”

A snort. “Sure. See you later.”

They parted ways under the grey sky of the afternoon.

**7.**

The sky at 4:19 pm was a medley of blue and pink and just the faintest hint of white and yellow near the horizon. The rainclouds from earlier had all but vanished. He spent most of his walk staring up, developing a crick in his neck. No regrets.

His gym bag knocked rhythmically against his leg, in time with his steps. One, two. One, two. Left, right. Oh, that’s a really pretty cloud.

It was now a part of his Snapchat memories.

The day had been long and tiring, to the extent that even though Hinata was in a good mood, he was still too drained to move along at any pace faster than a stroll. He knew very well that Kageyama, Atsumu, and Tsukishima were probably already practising, shooting a ball back and forth, glancing at the doors every so often because usually, Hinata was there before all of them. But it’s fine, he could take it slow for a day. Surely they wouldn’t mind too much.

And even if they did, he couldn’t really find it in himself to care.

He swung his arms back and forth, singing under his breath so as not to disrupt anyone nearby. “Try not to hold me down, feel alive when I’m in this town…”

The fluffy cloud from earlier had disappeared, replaced by stretched-out wisps of white. Or perhaps they were one and the same. Transformation had always been a central part of Hinata’s life, after all. He wouldn’t be surprised if it applied to the clouds that floated above his head, too.

**8.**

“Left! Left!”

The ball sailed in a beautiful arc from Atsumu’s fingertips to Bokuto’s palm. Hinata darted behind Kageyama and Tsukishima, just in case their block didn’t work.

It didn’t, and the ball sailed directly into his waiting arms. He bumped it, yellow and blue momentum vanishing as it flew up nice and slow towards Kageyama.

“Nice receive!” Yachi said from the sidelines, clapping. Shimizu jotted something down.

Hinata began his approach, circling to the back of the court and sprinting up. As always, he was in the air even before the ball left his setter’s fingers.

A super-fast cross-shot later, he was floating back to the ground, arms spread and legs poised, looking for all the world like a bird of flames. Kageyama’s gaze was rooted to him, even when Tsukishima punched his side.

“Pay attention to the game, bastard,” he muttered. Kageyama turned to snarl at him. Behind them, Hinata began to laugh, that specific laugh he reserved for victory.

Tsukishima spun the ball once, twice, before throwing it in the air and running. The serve came crashing down, forcing Ushijima to drop a knee to receive. The ball went to Bokuto, who didn’t bother to hide his frown at having to set.

Spike, block, receive, set, spike.

Kageyama received, turning it into a set. Tsukishima and Hinata both jumped, but the Hinata was the one to spike it. Line shot. Whistle. Hinata whooped, turning once he landed to face Kageyama and beam.

“Nice kill,” he said, grabbing his roommate’s head as he passed by. Hinata laughed.

“It was a _great_ kill, Kageyama,” he teased. “Don’t tell me you still aren’t able to compliment me.”

He sneered. “Work on your receives and then we’ll talk.”

“Hey! My receives have been really good this game!”

Shimizu nudged her fellow manager. “What are you and Yamaguchi going to do for your anniversary?” she asked. Yachi beamed, launching into an eager description of the new restaurant they had reservations at that evening. Tsukishima and Atsumu glanced at them, and then at each other, and then at Hinata and Kageyama, who were throwing punches again.

“They’re so oblivious. It makes me want to throw them off a cliff,” Atsumu remarked.

Tsukishima grunted. “For once, I agree with you. What turds.”

Bokuto yelled as the setter-spiker duo’s tussle turned into a brawl and they rolled under the net. Next to him, Ushijima stood with an eyebrow raised and the ball in his hand. When the two were close enough, he dropped it down onto them. It hit Kageyama’s head. They froze.

“We still have three points left until the game is over,” Ushijima reminded them. Atsumu snickered.

They scrambled to get up, Kageyama knocking his partner down in the process. At Hinata’s pained ‘oof’, he swivelled to him rapidly and began barraging him with questions.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Just help me up!”

Kageyama swooped him into a bridal carry, holding him there briefly before letting his legs drop. Eye contact was maintained.

Tsukishima let out a long-suffering sigh, in tandem with Atsumu, Bokuto, Ushijima, and their managers. On the other side of the gym, Hoshiumi leapt onto Yamaguchi’s shoulders after a perfect jump floater service ace.

Long swatches of golden light tumbled in through the open gym doors, setting Hinata’s hair alight once again. When he turned to smile at Kageyama, his eyes glowed, too. Kageyama’s throat went dry.

**9.**

Back when they were in high school, their walks home had been punctuated with meat buns and teammates. Rattly bike chains, too, if Hinata had forgotten to oil his beat-up vehicle. More often than not, their arguments would keep them warm, regardless of how cold the evening was. Spitfires, they were called affectionately by their senpais.

Now, older and decidedly colder without the old rhythm of childish insults tossed back and forth, Hinata shivered.

Kageyama side-eyed him, watching the little wisps of hair shake under the streetlights. Faintly, he could hear teeth chattering.

“Dumbass, take the scarf. It’s yours, anyway.”

He was already unwinding it from his neck when Hinata protested. “You need it more.”

“Your teeth clacked between every word of that.”

“You only have a hoodie. I have a hoodie _and_ a jacket.”

“You’re smaller. There’s not as much of you to generate heat.”

“Oi! Don’t bring my height into this!”

Kageyama swatted the punch away. Ahead of them, a group of students dressed much smarter than them (read: much warmer) laughed and shoved at each other. Their noise floated over and tinkled much like stars above them.

He dared to glance at his roommate, knowing full well that despite his bright grin, he was still shaking slightly. _What a stubborn piece of shit,_ he thought.

“You’re fucking stupid,” he announced. Hinata snorted. Kageyama ignored it, barrelling through to the second half of his statement. “Come here.”

“Eh?”

“Come. Here.”

He spread his left arm out. It only took Hinata a moment’s hesitation and an incredulous smile to step closer.

Kageyama draped his arm around his shoulders. How lucky; they were the perfect height to do so. Hinata burrowed into his side much like a small, fluffy pet would, humming in contentment.

“This is smart. Good idea, Bakageyama.”

They walked home like that.

**10.**

The couch was big enough to fit both of them comfortably without having to touch, but they hadn’t utilized the space in months. It was just more comfortable, and warmer, to watch TV while snuggled together.

Blue and white flashed from the screen, reflecting off the empty dinner plates on the table. Kageyama had wanted to clear them away and put them into the sink as soon as they’d finished eating, but his roommate had clung to him like some sort of orange koala. The plates remained.

“I’ll take Fictional Places for $400,” a contestant said. She got the question wrong. The show slipped away, a series of loud, red and pink commercials taking its place.

“Hey, that’s the one Yamaguchi and Yachi are going to today,” Hinata remarked. Kageyama focused back on the TV- _no,_ he hadn’t been watching Hinata’s content little smile, thank you very much.

“Valentine’s Day special, today only! Enjoy a special meal with your loved ones for only a fraction of the usual price! Make today special!”

Kageyama snorted. “A fraction of the usual price, yeah. Twelve-eighths of the usual price.”

Hinata snickered, the vibrations thrumming into Kageyama’s upper arm. “He said the word ‘special’ like, three times in a row.”

“Foolproof way to make sure we only ever go there on a Tuesday morning.”

“Who goes to semi-fine dining places on Tuesday mornings?”

“Exactly.”

His laugh was bright, coating Kageyama’s poor face with a faint blush. “Your business major is showing, Kageyama-kun.”

“Yeah, because it’s an actually helpful major.”

“Hey!”

He caught the slap in midair, keeping a firm grip on Hinata’s wrist as his hand wiggled back and forth. _Jeopardy_ came back on, the contestant who’d just lost $400 pouting slightly. They settled back into their original positions to watch again.

But Kageyama’s mind was stuck on that terrible commercial. All those gaudy sparkles and shiny red hearts were actually just...slightly convincing…

 _Enjoy a meal with your loved ones,_ huh. He glanced at the dinner plates and the empty chocolate box on the coffee table, then at the fluffy head on his shoulder. Guilt niggled at him.

“It’s Valentine’s Day today…” he started. Hinata looked up at him with a bemused expression.

“Yes, we’ve established that,” he said, laughing slightly.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up, boke. I mean, shouldn’t we have done something...special? We could have eaten out today. Would’ve gotten a discount. And it would be...nice…”

Hinata didn’t grace him with anything besides a hum, turning back to the show. His roommate stared in disbelief.

“I pour my heart out to you and I just get a ‘hmm’?” He sounded so genuinely affronted that Hinata turned back in alarm. His face softened again soon, though.

“We don’t need to do anything special, Bakageyama,” he said, fond exasperation somehow soaking every letter. He flicked Kageyama’s forehead gently (“Oi.”).

He looked away, guilt still sloshing around in his gut. “Yeah, but-”

“‘Yeah, but’ nothing. This,” he said, gesturing to their living room, “is already perfect. What more could I ever want?”

They were so close. When had they moved to be this close? Hinata’s eyelashes were a shade darker than his hair. His breath caught momentarily somewhere between his lungs and an exhale. 

Kageyama’s heart took a step. “Hey,” he whispered, “can I kiss your forehead?”

To his immense relief, but not exactly to his surprise, Hinata smiled and whispered back. “Yeah.”

Their eyes closed. Kageyama leaned in, pressing his lips against Hinata’s forehead in the briefest of kisses, barely a brushing of lips. When he pulled back, their eyes fluttered open. Their breaths stuttered, softening and melting into their laps. Hinata smiled. It felt to Kageyama like the warm glow of a candle.

The sunlight-turned-human whispered again. “Can I kiss your mouth?”

Kageyama smiled and threaded his hand through Hinata’s hair. He let his forehead fall to rest against the other’s, letting himself be pulled into their gravity. “Yeah,” he breathed.

Once again, their eyes fluttered shut as they leaned in just the slightest bit. Like the final piece of the puzzle slotting into place, like an ‘I’m home’ sounding through the house, their lips met after five years of waiting. 

The clock in the kitchen ticked past 9:14 pm.

**Author's Note:**

> [ @amillion.yearsago on instagram ]
> 
> consider following me on instagram! i mostly post haikyuu memes, and sometimes i update the status of my wips on my story.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed that, heheh. the song hinata is singing in part 7 is [faster car](https://open.spotify.com/track/0c7o0AEDnXKGZto2FVuyGG?si=FBEmLBnQQJWlvJvVl5CDOg) by loving caliber, one of my favourites.


End file.
